Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Valeo Financial Advisors LLC

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 47,266 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,672 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $45.93 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $47.19. The company has a market capitalization of $78.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s fifty day moving average is $45.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.81.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.